Sights in Húběi
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Yellow Crane Tower
Wǔhàn's magical dancing crane, immortalised in the poetry of Cui Hao, has long flown but the city's pride and joy remains perched on top of Snake Hill. The tower has had its history rebuilt out of it since the original was constructed in AD 223, and today's beautiful five-storey, yellow-tiled version is a 1980s remake of the Qing tower that combusted in 1884. Trolley bus 1 and bus 10 go here.
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Wuhan University
Wuhan University was founded in 1913. The university was the site of the 1967 'Wuhan Incident' - a protracted battle during the Cultural Revolution, where machine gun nests were built on top of the library and supply tunnels were dug through the hill.
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Former Hankou Railway Station
Wǔhàn's history of foreign influence has bequeathed a noble crop of heritage architecture dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially in Hànkǒu. Hànkǒu's concession-era streetscapes hint at Shànghǎi's Bund district, despite the neglected condition of many buildings. Walk down Jianghan Lu (with its echoes of Shànghǎi's Nanjing Lu) and Yanjiang Dadao, where Hànkǒu's Bund is located.
The imposing shell of the gutted, French-designed former Hankou Railway Station, at the north end of Chezhan Lu, dates from 1900 and remains decorated with green roofing, an eagle over its main door and a plaque that reads 'Hank'eou (Tatchemen)' (in modern pinyin p…
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Guīyuán Temple
Pass a large rectangular pond where turtles cling like shipwrecked survivors to two metal lotus flowers and examine the magnificently burnished cabinet housing Milefo in the first hall. Also seek out this 350-year-old Buddhist temple's collection of more than 500 statues of enlightened disciples in the Hall of Arhats (罗汉堂; Luóhàn Táng). Completed in 1890, after nine years in the making, they remain in pristine condition. In the Mahasattva Pavilion (大士阁; Dàshì Gé), the 2m-high Tang-dynasty tablet carved with an image of Guanyin holding a willow branch is impressive and a jade Buddha can be found in the Cángjīng Pavilion (藏经阁; Cángjīng Gé). Bus 401 (Y2) …
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Húběi Provincial Museum
The centrepiece of this fabulous museum is the exhibition of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, which includes one of the world's largest musical instruments, a remarkable 5-tonne set of 64 double-tone bronze bells. The museum is beside the enormous East Lake (东湖; Dōng Hú), a pleasant area for cycling. Take bus 402 or 411.
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Chángchūn Temple
This charming Taoist temple dates back to the Han dynasty. The Hall of Supreme Purity (Tàiqīng Diàn), containing a white-bearded statue of Laotzu, is the centrepiece. Other halls lead up the steep steps behind it. There's a good vegetarian restaurant next door. Buses 411, 401 and 402 all go here.
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Minsheng Bank Building
Though there are scores of reminders of its past, Wǔhàn, like China at large, has at all times one eye - and usually two - firmly fixed on the present. Currently the world's 18th-tallest building, the stunning 331m-high Minsheng Bank Building generated controversy with experts warning that the soft geology of Wuhan was unsuited to such a towering edifice.
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Former Headquarters of the Wuchang Uprising
Near the Yellow Crane Tower is the colonial-style red brick Former Headquarters of the Wuchang Uprising, source of the final collapse of the Qing dynasty. Get in the mood by donning full a Republican officer's uniform (around Y10) and brandishing a sword for a photo-op.
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Yokohama Syokin Bank
The former Yokohama Syokin Bank (dating from 1921) on the corner of Nanjing Lu is one of the monumental old-world buildings - epitaphs to an increasingly distant age - that push up against Yanjiang Dadao.
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The National City Bank of New York building
The National City Bank of New York building is one of the monumental old-world buildings - epitaphs to an increasingly distant age - that push up against Yanjiang Dadao.
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Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church was built in 1881. Newly restored, the church sits alongside a café -its crypt now serving as a nightclub!
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The Mao Zedong Villa
The Mao Zedong Villa was one of the Chairman's boltholes and is a tourist fixture for Mao-ophiles.
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Yùxū Temple
This colossal temple with pavilions in a vast courtyard was first built in 1413. Turn immediately right out of the train station, take the first right and go through the tunnel.
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Wǔdāng Museum of China
This is a great opportunity to get to grips with Wǔdāng Shān history, lore and architecture. There's a whole pantheon of gods, including the eminent Zhenwu (patriarch of the mountain) and a section of Taoist medicine including the fundamentals of nèidān Xué (内丹学; internal alchemy). There are also some stunning bronze pieces. From the train station turn left onto Taihe Lu, take the first right and continue to Culture Sq (文化广场; Wénhuà Guǎngchǎng).
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Three Gorges Dam
The huge Three Gorges Dam hulks away upstream. The world's largest due to length (2.3km) rather than height (101m), it isn't the most spectacular, but is worth a peek. You can't walk on it, but there's a tourist viewing area to the north. The view from the south is much the same, and free. Take a bus from the long-distance station to Máopíng (茅坪; Y15), but get off at Bālù Chēzhàn (八路车战). Alternatively, take bus 4 from the ferry terminal to Yèmíngzhū (夜明珠; Y1) then change to bus 8 (Y10), which terminates at Bālù Chēzhàn. Tours (Y150 inclusive of admission) also leave at 8.30am and 1pm from Hubei Xiazhou International Travel Service.
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Climbing Wǔdāng Shān
The mountain attracts a diverse array of climbers: Taoist nuns with knapsacks, workers shouldering paving slabs and sacks of rice, businessmen with laptops and bright-eyed octogenarians hopping along. Take bus 2 (Y2) or pedicab (Y2) from Taihe Lu to the main gate (山门口; Shān Ménkǒu) and ticket office. The bus ticket you must buy with your admission gives you unlimited use of shuttle buses (from 6am to 6.30pm). Note that everything added together (including buses and temple tickets) will cost you Y245; presumably this funded the construction of the expensive-looking ticket hall. The ticket-checking guards in black quasi-military outfits and red berets are curious in such a …
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